The Dixförda gravel pits south of Potsdam in Germany are a very important night roosting place for the Whooper Swans. Up to 1120 individuals have been recorded, which makes them one of the biggest inland concentrations in Europe.

Air pollution threatens climate, environment and human health. Each year approximately 500,000 people die prematurely from the direct consequences of poor air quality throughout the European Union. NABU (BirdLife in Germany), in collaboration with eight European green NGOs, has launched a tree year project aiming at developing concrete measures and solutions for a cleaner air in European ports and cities. The timing is perfect since clean air will be the focus of EU environmental policy discussions throughout 2013, the European Year of Air.

With the arrival of summer, the 7th season of the Eurasian Spring Alive programme has been completed, characterised by the breaking of a new record and a technological innovation. The campaign now moves to Africa where from September onwards, participants will celebrate the arrival of spring with bird-watching and other bird-related activities.

On Wednesday 27 June, the day before EU leaders come together in Brussels for a first top-level negotiation round on the future EU budget 2014-2020, the Environment Committee of the German Federal Parliament adopted a ground breaking decision calling for a significant strengthening of the EU's environmental programme LIFE.

An Osprey ringed in Germany by NABU (BirdLife Partner) as part of a conservation project was recovered by the ALE and BirdLife Malta (BirdLife Partner) yesterday afternoon, shortly after being illegally shot in the Salina Bird Sanctuary.